Bingo game boards

ABSTRACT

A bingo board of the type shown in prior U.S. Pat. No. 2,778,642 provided with guide slots positioned below windows in a front board with finger grips slidably mounted in said slots for shifting number-covering tabs across said windows and having a protuberance positioned in each guide slot to be engaged by the tab of the slot for frictionally limiting and controlling the movement of the finger grip therein. The protuberances are positioned at different selected positions along their guide slots and are out of vertical alignment. A resetting sheet is mounted behind the front board which when laterally shifted shifts all of the tabs to open position.

United States Patent Moore, Jr.

[15] 3,663,020 51 May 16, 1972 154] BINGO GAME BOARDS [72] Inventor: James F. Moore, Jr., Englewood, C010.

[73] Assignee: Moore & Hansen Mfg. Co., Englewood.

Colo. [22] Filed: Mar. 13, I970 [21] Appl.No.: 19,353

2,491,257 12/1949 Fawkes ..273l135 BC Primary ExaminerDelbert H. Lowe Attorney-R. H. Galbreath ABSTRACT A bingo board of the type shown in prior U.S. Pat. No. 2,778,642 provided with guide slots positioned below windows in a front board with finger grips slidably mounted in said slots for shifting number-covering tabs across said windows and having a protuberance positioned in each guide slot to be engaged by the tab of the slot for frictionally limiting and controlling the movement of the finger grip therein. The protuberances are positioned at different selected positions along their guide slots and are out of vertical alignment A resetting sheet is mounted behind the front board which when laterally shifted shifts all of the tabs to open position.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures amco GAME BOARDS This invention relates to a bingo board of the type fully illustrated and described in prior U.S. Pat. No. 2,778,642 issued Jan. 22, I957. The latter bingo board is provided with flat, slidable number-covering tabs positioned between a numbercarrying back board and a windowed front board. Each tab is provided with a finger portion which projects forwardly through a horizontal guide slot in the front board below each window to enable the tabs to be slid laterally to cover and uncover their respective windows. The board is also provided with a transparent, laterally shiftable, slotted, resetting sheet positioned between the front board and the tabs which, when shifted to an open position, simultaneously shifis all of the tabs to an open position and which, when shifted to the closed position, allows each tab to be individually shifted to a closed position as fully described in the said prior patent.

It has been found that if, during playing, a large number of the windows are in the closed position, before Bingo" is called, it is extremely difficult to shifi the resetting sheet to the open position due to the multiplied friction of the many closed windows which must be simultaneously opened. Attempts have been made to overcome this by relieving the guide slots and tabs to provide more intervening space, less friction and freer movement. This has also been found to be objectionable since the tabs, due to the low frictional resistance, tend to become accidentally moved during the playing so as to give incorrect scores.

The principal object of this invention is to provide means, in a bingo board of the type shown in US. Pat. No. 2,778,642, which will indicate accidental movements of the tabs and which will allow the resetting sheet to be readily shifled to quickly, completely and simultaneously replace all of the closed tabs in the open position when each game is completed.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy and efiiciency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a front face view of the improved bingo board, with the laminations thereof broken away to illustrate the interior construction;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, enlarged cross section taken on the line 2-2, FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a still further enlarged, fragmentary, face view of a portion of the board illustrating the means employed for relieving opening stresses and for indicating accidental movements of the indicating tabs; and

FIG. 4 is a detail, perspective view, illustrating a type of numeral-covering tab employed with the improved board.

In FIG. 2 the thickness of the laminations of the board and in FIG. 3 the width of the guide slots have been magnified for clarity of illustration.

The improved bingo board is built up on a relatively stiff back board 10, the front face of which is imprinted with game numerals arranged in vertical columns and horizontal rows. The front face of the back board is covered by means of a front board 12 provided with a plurality of similar rectangular windows 15 positioned to expose the game numerals on the back board 10 as is conventional in bingo board structures. The front board is maintained in spaced parallel relation to the back board 10 by means of a spacing sheet 13 which is cut out to provide an open space 24 between the front and back boards. The back board 10, the front board 12, and the spacing sheet 13 are all permanently secured together around their peripheries in any desired manner, such as by means of a relatively heavy stitching 14.

A transparent, laterally shiftable, resetting sheet 16, formed of lumarith, Plexiglas, or similar transparent plastic material, is positioned in the open space 24. The resetting sheet 16 is substantially equal in vertical width to the open space 24 and is relatively narrower in horizontal width than the said space so that the resetting sheet may be moved laterally from side to side a distance substantially equal to the horizontal width of the respective windows 15.

Thefront board l2isprovidedwithahoriaontalguideslot 17 positioned below each ofthe windows 15. The slots 17 have a length substantially equal to twice the individual width of the windows 15 and preferably extend to and project beyond the left side of each window.

The resetting sheet 16 is also provided with similar and similarly positioned guide slots 18 which, when the resetting sheet 16 is moved completely to the right as shown in FIG. I, align and register with the guide slots 17 in the front board 12.

A relatively thin, movable, rectangular, number covering tab 19 is provided to close each of the windows 15. The number-covering tabs are relatively thin and flat and are preferably moulded from opaque plastic and are provided with transversely extending, outwardly projecting, finger grips 20 which may be engaged by the finger to slide the tabs laterally back and forth.

The center-most tab of the board, which will be herein designated as the fixed tab 21, has a finger grip 22 permanently formed thereon and the tab is affixed to the medial portion of the resetting sheet 16 and the grip extends upwardly therefrom. The affixing may be accomplished in any desired manner such as by means of rivets 23, see FIG. 2.

In assembling the device, the finger grips 20 of the independently movable tabs 19 are forced forwardly through their respective guide slots 18 in the resetting sheet 16, and thence through the guide slots 17 in the front board 12 so as to pro ject forwardly from the latter in laterally shiftable relation.

It will be noted that ledges 25 are formed on and project oppositely outward from the sides of the finger grips 20 and 22 which act to maintain the tabs out of contact with the numbers on the back board 10.

As is conventional, the middle window of the middle row of windows has no numeral and is usually designated as a "free" window, and is usually covered in some way by the player at the beginning of each game. With this improved board the fixed tab 21 is designed to cover the middle or free" window.

Let us assume that all windows are open and a game is initiated. The player pushes the fixed tab 21 to the right to cover the "free window. This simultaneously forces the entire resetting sheet 16 to the right so that its slots 18 will register with the slots 17 in the front board l2.

The game is now played in the usual manner, and the called numbers on the back board 10 are successively covered by individually sliding the tabs 19 to the right over the "called" numbers, as shown at C" in FIG. 1. When the game is completed the player engages the finger grip 22 of the fixed tab 21 and slides the finger grip 22 to the left in its guide slot 17 to uncover the free window. This causes die entire transparent sheet 16 to slide to the left, so that the right terminuses of its guide slots 18 will engage and simultaneously slide every played tab from the closed or covered position "C to the open or uncovered position "D".

The various elements of the board may be formed from any suitable material and of any desired size and thickness. It has been found that a very satisfactory board can be produced by forming the members 10, 12 from cardboard having a thickness of 0.04 inch; the spacer from cardboard having a thickness of 0.08 inch; the resetting sheet 16 from pleitiglass having a thickness of 0.02 inch; and the tabs from plastic having a thickness of 0.0148 inch. The tabs are preferably black so that they will form very evident contrast when closed, as indicated by the crossed broken lining at C in FIG. 1.

Special attention is directed to FIG. 3 wherein it will be noted that the vertical width of the guide slots 17 is substantially equal to the vertical width of the finger grips 20 so that the latter slide relatively freely in the slots. The sliding movement in each slot 17, however, is frictionally controlled by forming a friction protuberance 26 on either wall of each slot in that portion of the slot which will be occupied by the finger grip when the latter is fully opened.

As illustrated, one protuberance 26 is formed on the lower wall of each slot 17. The protuberances 26 are spaced at various horizontal positions along their respective guide slots and are preferably spaced so that each protuberance will be vertically out of alignment with the remaining protuberances so that the same will not be simultaneously engaged by the finger grips 20 when the latter are simultaneously moved to the open position.

The protuberences 26 have been magnified for the purposes of illustration in FIGS. 1 and 3. Actually they are practically invisible to the eye as in actual use they project from the slot wall only from one to five thousandths of an inch, just sufficient to require a slight manual push on the tab to cause it to enter between the protuberance and the wall.

The protuberances 26 serve a double purpose:

First, they relieve the stress on the medial finger grip 22, and avoid the broken finger nails that usually result, when it is attempted to slide the resetting sheet of the usual bingo board to the left to open all of the closed windows; and

Second, they act to indicate whether any of the tabs have been accidentally moved toward the open position.

For instance, let us assume that the finger grip 22 in this improved board is moved to the Iefl. The initial movement is unobstructed as none of the finger grips 20 have as yet reached a protuberance. As the movement continues the protuberances will be encountered in gradual succession, due to their various spacings, so that the complete opening move ment is completed without the objection-able initial push usually required when the finger grips are all in frictional engagement with the full length of the guide slots as in the conventional boards, as described in US. Pat. No. 2,778,642.

It will be also noted that should any of the tabs be accidentally opened they will encounter a protuberance so as to leave their windows partially open as indicated at "D" and "E" in FIG. 3. This will immediately indicate the accidentally opened windows and the tabs thereof can be readily closed by the players.

While a selected form of the invention has been above described, it is understood that mechanical variations and detail substitutions can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

I. A bingo board comprising:

a. a front board having a plurality of horizontally aligned columns and vertically aligned rows of windows formed therein;

b. a windowless backboard;

c. an open centered spacing sheet fixed between said back and front boards;

d. a laterally shifiable resetting sheet positioned in the open center of said spacing sheet between said back and front boards;

e. a horizontal guide slot positioned below and extending to one side of each window in both said front board and said resetting sheet;

f. a number-covering tab positioned between said resetting sheet and said back board at each window;

g. a finger grip mounted on each tab, each grip extending through the guide slots of said resetting sheet and said top sheet. said finger grip being adapted to travel along said guide slots to move said tabs to and from said windows;

h. a protuberance formed on the side wall of each guide slot of said front board and on the portion thereof extending to the side of its respective window which can be contacted by and frictionally engaged by the finger grip of that slot at a selected point in its travel along said slot for frictionally controlling the travel of said finger grips at selected points along said guide slots, said protuberances being positioned at different selected positions along their respective guide slots so as not to be vertically aligned in said horizontally aligned columns 

1. A bingo board comprising: a. a front board having a plurality of horizontally aligned columns and vertically aligned rows of windows formed therein; b. a windowless backboard; c. an open centered spacing sheet fixed between said back and front boards; d. a laterally shiftable resetting sheet positioned in the open center of said spacing sheet between said back and front boards; e. a horizontal guide slot positioned below and extending to one side of each window in both said front board and said resetting sheet; f. a number-covering tab positioned between said resetting sheet and said back board at each window; g. a finger grip mounted on each tab, each grip extending through the guide slots of said resetting sheet and said top sheet, said finger grip being adapted to travel along said guide slots to move said tabs to and from said windows; h. a protuberance formed on the side wall of each guide slot of said front board and on the portion thereof extending to the side of its respective window which can be contacted by and frictionally engaged by the finger grip of that slot at a selected point in its travel along said slot for frictionally controlling the travel of said finger grips at selected points along said guide slots, said protuberances being positioned at different selected positions along their respective guide slots so as not to be vertically aligned in said horizontally aligned columns. 